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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AbbVie, AES, AT&T, Boeing, Carnival, CME, Coca-Cola, Comcast, Honeywell, Lululemon, Netflix, Shopify, Starbucks, Twitter and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: March 23, 2020 9:16 am

Last Updated: March 24, 2020 8:31 am

Equity futures were down again in the early hours of Monday, but the markets were then indicated to open higher after the Federal Reserve called an emergency meeting and has pledged to purchase whatever is required to stabilize the markets and liquidity. Many analyst calls on Wall Street are substantial downgrades or target price cuts in reaction to massive share price drops that have been seen in the past month and after the worst week for stocks since the financial crisis in 2008.

These are the top analyst calls tracked for Monday, March 23, 2020.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Societe Generale.

AES Corp. (NYSE: AES) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and the target price was cut to $16.50 from $19.00 (versus an $11.87 prior close) at Morgan Stanley.

Aimmune Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: AIMT) was maintained as Overweight but its target price was slashed to $32 from $64 (versus an $11.51 close) at Cantor Fitzgerald.

Albermarle Corp. (NYSE: ALB) was maintained as Buy but the target price was cut to $108 from $118 at UBS. Shares closed down 13.7% at $53.45 ahead of this call.

American Airlines Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Raymond James.

American States Water Co. (NYSE: AWR) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this water utility is a dividend king and has increased its cash payout every year for 65 years. Shares most recently closed at $86.00, with a consensus price target of $79.00.

Aramark Corp. (NYSE: ARMK) was raised to Buy from Sell but its target price was cut to $30 from $39 (versus a $19.43 close) at Citigroup.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform and its target price was cut to $33 from $41 at Robert W. Baird.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) was raised to Buy from Neutral while its target price was cut to $173 from $256 at Goldman Sachs, but the firm thinks it remains a going concern until COVID-19 is resolved, and the firm believes that passenger traffic will be as popular as it was once this is resolved.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Societe Generale.

Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) was downgraded to Underweight from Overweight and its target price was cut to $6 (versus a $12.00 close) at Wells Fargo.

Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE: SCHW) was raised to Buy from Neutral at BofA Securities.

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) was maintained as Neutral but the price objective was cut to $168 from $216 (versus a $158.41 close) at BofA Securities.

Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan. Coca-Cola was down 8.8% at $38.30 on Friday’s close.

Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform and its target price was cut to $58 from $50 at Robert W. Baird.

Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (NYSE: DO) was reiterated as Sell and its target price was slashed to $1.00 from $3.50 (versus a $2.72 close) at Citigroup.

First Energy Corp. (NYSE: FE) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and the target price was cut to $41 from $50 (versus a $34.28 close) at Morgan Stanley.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) was maintained as Buy but the price objective was cut to $154 from $197 (versus a $138.41 close) at BofA Securities.

Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight and its target price was cut to $121 from $151 (versus a $112.50 close) at Morgan Stanley.

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE: ICE) was maintained as Buy but the price objective was cut to $81 from $99 (versus a $72.99 close) at BofA Securities.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $200 target price (versus a $165.01 close) at Needham.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) was maintained as Buy but the price objective was cut to $32 from $42 (versus a $29.67 close) at BofA Securities.

Nasdaq Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) was maintained as Buy but the price objective was cut to $90 from $114 (versus an $80.50 close) at BofA Securities.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) was raised to Outperform from Neutral and its target price was raised to $415 from $350 (versus a $332.83 close) at Robert W. Baird. Netflix had a consensus target price of $365.03 on last look.

Newell Brands Inc. (NYSE: NWL) was maintained as Buy but its target price was cut to $15 from $24 (versus an $11.42 close) at Citigroup.

Noble Corp. PLC (NYSE: NE) was reiterated as Sell and its target price was slashed to $0.25 from $1.00 (versus a $0.35 close) at Citigroup.

Pepsico Inc. (NYSE: PEP) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan. Pepsico was down 11.4% at $103.93 on Friday’s close.

Sabre Corp. (NASDAQ: SABR) was downgraded to Underperform from Buy and its target price was slashed to $3 from $8 (versus a $3.31 close) at Mizuho.

Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP) was maintained as Overweight but its target price was lowered to $500 from $575 (versus a $346.06 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Six Flags Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: SIX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and its target price was slashed to $13 from $28 (versus a $121.80 close) at B. Riley FBR.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at MKM Partners.

TradeWeb Markets Inc. (NASDAQ: TW) was maintained as Buy but the price objective was cut to $44 from $57 (versus a $39.27 close) at BofA Securities.

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) was reiterated as Neutral and its target price was slashed to $1.25 from $8.00 (versus a $1.04 close) at Citigroup.

Tupperware Brands Corp. (NYSE: TUP) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that shares of this consumer staples stock are down over 80% year to date. The stock last closed at $1.62 and has a consensus price target of $1.50.

Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) was maintained as Neutral but the target price was cut to $27 from $35 (versus a $23.95 close) at Citigroup.

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Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Accenture, American Express, Capital One, GameStop, Halliburton, JPMorgan, Kraft Heinz, Lyft, Nike, Square, Uber Technologies and many more.